Stapling machine and method



Oct. 1, 1946.

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J. c. LANG v STAPLING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 16, 1942 INVENTOR wwwiM/JMW ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 1', 1946 Joseph o. .'Lang, Pittsburgh,

Pa., assigner to Bocjl Corporation, a corporation of DelawareApplication May 16, 1942, Serial-No. 443,200

6 Claims.

This invention pertains to the art of stapling andv particularly to amachine and method of shaping the staples in the course of driving them.In my copending application Serial No. 443,197 filed May 16, 1942, Ihave disclosed a methodof stapling wherein the free terminal portions ofthe legs of an otherwise conventional staple are turned inwardly towardeach other at a slight angle before the staple is` driven. As disclosedin said-application, if such a staple is driven by a sudden sharp blowthrough one of two overlying` lifts of cardboard or corrugatedpaperboard the staple will penetrate the upper lift and enter theunderlying lift. As it enters the underlying lift the free ends of thelegs of the staple will move inwardly and clinch. Usually this clinchingwill be accomplished without the staple passing through the underlyinglayer or lift of cardboard.

The present invention is for a staplingv device in which ordinarystaples having parallel legs may be prepared and driven in the aforesaidmethod. In general, the invention contemplates the incorporation in astaple driving device having a feeding mechanism for feeding ordinarystaples and of a driver having two portions'. One of these portionsengages the staple which has previously been prepared and'drives it intothe material. The other portion'of the driver operates on the staplewhich is to be next consumed, forces` the legs thereof downwardlyagainst suitably disposed anvil elements to bend or toe the legs ofthestaple inwardly.

My invention may be more fully understood by reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view partly in section andpartly in elevation of a stapling machine 'embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section in the plane of line II-II ofFigure' 1;

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 2 but in a plane slightly closerthe front, being in the plane of line III-III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section in the plane of line IV--IVof Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a detail view in perspective ofA one of the anvil elementsof the machine.

Figure 6' is a longitudinal section of the staple guide end of themachine only, showing a slight modification;

Figure 7 is similar to Figure 2; this View being in the plane of lineVII- VII of Figure 6.

While my invention may be incorporated in any suitably constructedstapling device such as those which are now generally in use, I have forthe purposes of illustration. disclosed a form of stapler similar tothat shown in my copending application Serial No. 443,199 filed May 16,1942, issued on Oct. 31, 1944, as U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,361,483. Inthe drawing, 2A designates gen- 5 6 at the forward end of the base.

(Cl. 1-49) v erally the body of a stapling device, this body having abase portion 3, an upwardly projecting portion il at the rearof thebase, a handle portion 5 spaced above the base, and an upright partWithin the part S is a plunger 1 that is moved downwardly toward anabutment 8 by means of a compression spring 9, the upper end of thisspring being confined by an adjusting nut i0. Amovable hand l0 lever llprojects into the space above th'e base 3 and the fixed handle 5, and amechanism described in detail in my said copending application anddesignated herein generally as l2 is so arranged that when the handle His moved upwardly the plunger l is lifted against the compression ofspring 9 to a predetermined point when the plunger is automaticallyreleased and is driven with considerable force and at high velocitydownwardly toward the abutment. Se-

cured to the lower end of the plunger 1 is a metal driver I3 which issubstantially rectangular in cross section and which operates in avertical guideway i4 in the part 6 of the frame.

` Secured in one face of the guideway is a wearplate l5, this platebeing in the shape4 of the letter L, having a foot portion 15a through.which is an opening` 15b through' which the staple is driven. Extendingforwardly from the opening, the sides of this foot are sloped towardeach other, forming inclined anvils |50 (see Figure 2). These inclinedsurfaces are of sulcient vertical height to bend or toe the ends of thestaples, prior to driving, inwardly. The web |5d ties the two anvilportions together and makes the structure rigid. The member l5 ispreferably molded into the machine frame when it is being formed so asto be securely held in place.

The lower portion of the driver has a transverse shoulder I6 in the facethereof which is turned away from the Wear-plate, this shoulderbeingspaced upwardly from the tip of the driver a distance slightly greaterthan the height of a single staple adapted to be used in the machine.The lower terminal portion of the driver i3, i. e. that part designatedll which is below the shoulder I6, is the part of the driver whichinitially contacts the staple which is to be driven.

In the base member 3 of the device is a longitudinally extendinginverted channel i8 having l a pusher I9 movable therealong. ThispusherV is adapted to bear against the end Yof a row of staples receivedwithin the channel I8 and yieldably urge such row of staples along thechannel toward the driver. In order to move the pusher,

the pusher is provided with a pin 29 that projects upwardly through aslot 2| in the top of the channel I8, this pin 20 being connected to aspring metal tape or ribbon 22, the inner end of which is coiled about apost 23. 1 Y

The portion l1 of the driver is of a thickness approximately equal tothe thickness of a single staple and the shoulder I6 is of a thicknessalso equal to that of a single staple so that the combined thickness ofthe driver is equivalent to the thickness of two staples. The guidewayI4 extends downwardly across the extreme left-hand end of the channelI8, passing through the foot I5a of the insert I5 as previouslydescribed, so that when a row of staples is moved by operation of thepusher I 9 the extreme left-hand staple will abut against the wear-plateI5 and be in the path of the portion I'I of the driver. The secondstaple from the left-hand end will then be under the shoulder I6.

In the operation of the stapler, when a charge of staples is rst putinto the magazine or channel I8 the left-hand end of such row of stapleswill be pushed over against the driver. When the hand lever I I isoperated for the first time to lift the driver the driver is moved outof the way of the staples and the row of staples is immediately pushedover a distance equal to the thickness of two staples so that theendmost staple is against the wear-plate i 5. Then, when the driver isreleased the part II will eject the rst staple from the machine. Theshoulder I6 will engage the second staple and drive it down a slightdistance, causing the points of the staple to be cammed in or toedinwardly by the anvil elements I5c. Upon the driver being lifted againthis staple will then be projected into'the path of portion Il of thedriver and the next succeeding staple in the row will be in the path ofthe shoulder I5. Thus, after the rst staple each succeeding staple willhave the free toed inwardly before the staple is ultimately driven. Byreason of this arrangement the machine is adapted to operate onconventional staples and each staple is successively pre-formed to thedesired toed-in confirmation before it is driven.

While the invention provides a means for forming each conventionalstaple successively into a toed-in staple and then driving it, this isaccomplished without any substantial increase in the cost of aconventional stapler and without any complication of the mechanism. Theonly departure which has to be made from the conventional staple drivingmechanism is in the driver, the clearance space for the vision of theanvil elements |50.

Should it be necessary to support the interior of the staple while it isbeing bowed, the modification shown in Figures 6 and 7 may be resortedto. In these figures the part ing projection I 5g under the oset portionI6 of the driver, thereby leaving a space at the sides of saidprojection only wide enough to form a staple guide. By reason of this,the legs of the staple above the anvil surfaces IEC can not bend in-Wardly While I have illustrated and described one particular embodimentof my invention it will be understood from the foregoing that theinvention is not confined to the particular machine Shown but isapplicable to any stapler using a reciprocating driver wherein U-shapedstaples may be operated upon at a station in advance of the drivingstation for the bending or toeing in of the points of the staple,although the toed-in staples are most effectively used only in driversof the character in which the driver is propelled at a relatively highspeed against the staple, and consequently the invention nds itsgreatest utility terminals of the legs thereof driver, and in the pro-I5d has an upstandsucceeding staple in stapling devices of this kind. Itwill be understood however, that various changes and modications may bemade in the particular construction and the Various parts within thecontemplation of my invention and under the scope of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A stapling machine of the class described comprising a framestructure having a staple guide therein, a driver operable in the guide,means for delivering preformed staples to the guide one at a time, andmeans at one side of the guide in the machine for toeing the ends of thelegs of the staples inwardly relative to the upper portions of the legsbefore they are delivered to the guide.

2. A stapling machine of the class described comprising a framestructure providing a staple guide, a driver operable in the guide,means for moving a succession of staples toward the guide, and meansassociated with the driver and at one side thereof for striking thestaples before they reach the guide for toeing the ends of the legs ofthe staples inwardly relative to the upper portions of the legs inadvance of the staples being delivered to the guide.

3. A stapling machine of the class described comprising a framestructure having a staple guide therein, a driver operable in the guide,a magazine in the frame through which the staples are moved for deliveryto the guide, means in said magazine adjacent and in advance of theguide` providing oppositely positioned inclined anvil portions, meansfor moving the staples along the magazine, and means associated with thedriver for engaging a staple positioned over said anvil portions forforcing the staple against the anvil portion, and thereby toe the endsof the legs of the staple inwardly relatively to the upper portion ofthe legs.

4. A stapling machine of the class described comprising a framestructure having a staple guide therein, a driver operable in the guide,said driver having an offset shoulder portion on one face thereof spacedinwardly from Ithe driving end thereof, means for moving the staplestoward the guide, and means in the frame under the shoulder portion ofthe driver providing downwardly convergent anvil portions over which theends of the staple legs move in advancing toward the guide, saidshoulder being so positioned that when one staple is driven the next isengaged by said shoulder and the legs thereof forced against said anvilportions to toe the ends of the legs inwardly a predetermined extent.

5. The method of stapling with conventional staples having parallel legportions which comprises successively presenting the staples to adriver, successively operating upon each staple before it is presentedto the driver to toe the free ends of the legs inwardly to apredetermined extent while the legs above such toed-in portions areparallel.

6. The method of stapling with conventional" staples having parallel legportions which comprises successively presenting the staples to adriver, successively operating upon each staple before it is presentedto the driver to toe the p-oint ends of the legs inwardly to apredetermined extent, and operating the driver with a duick. sharp blowto drive the staple.

JOSEPH C. LANG.

